Newly diagnosed UP...Insurance denied canasa suppositories

Hi there!

After 1.5 years of intermittent but growing to increasingly worse/constant symptoms (blood, mucus, urgency), I was diagnosed with UP after a sigmoidoscopy five days ago. GI told me to take canasa suppositories in a.m. and hydrocortisone enemas at night. Insurance has come back and said no to canasa so I'm on Lialda pills. I've done three nights of enemas and seen no relief. I'm worried the Lialda won't be able to work as this is all in my rectum. Any advice? GI said to see how it all goes for 6 weeks, but I'm wondering if I should consider dietary changes.

I had a "clear" colonoscopy last November while doing the Whole 30 diet. GI says i probably didn't have colitis then, but I hard eye roll that as my symptoms were similar, just less blood. The bleeding really got going again about 2 weeks after colonoscopy (after I was off Whole 30) and hasn't stopped for more than a few weeks since this time. Because colonoscopy was clear, no one wanted to talk to me. I was diagnosed with internal hems, even though no one could see anything that looked problematic.

GI also said diet wouldn't make any difference with UP.

I'm 38 and busy mom with three small kids. I am highly motivated to stop bleeding and get into remission, plus I get nervous about the condition spreading.

Make an appeal. Ask your GI to make a call. If it comes to the point, contact your state's health insurance authorities. The insurance headache is getting way out of hand. We all pay premiums through our nose and when we need it we are being denied.

If all fails, you can get it from Universal Drug Store. See my review of this store a while ago.

A suggestion if I may use Hydrocortisone enema during the day and suppository during the night. When I was in a flare, the suppository sometimes leaked making things uncomfortable. Hydrocortisone enema will be absorbed within an hour. Once you make a restroom visit, you are good to go for the day. If you can not hold enema, consider Bentyl.

"but I'm wondering if I should consider dietary changes. "

i definitely would in your situation -

Canasa is the defacto treatment for UP. Somebody seriously messed up, call insurance and gasteroenterologist and get things moving along and approved!